Destiny and Stardust. Stacy Gregg
getting her horse back. Not only that, she was stranded hours from home and no one even knew where she was.
Issie lay there in the long grass thinking about what she should do next. Should I wait here? she wondered. Maybe Blaze would come back again. She couldn’t just leave Blaze out here with the herd. Blaze wasn’t a wild horse – she had no idea how to survive in the wild. And she was still wearing her saddle and bridle. What if she got tangled in a tree or something? Besides, the black stallion was so protective of his herd he might turn on Blaze and hurt her. After all, she was an outsider. There was no way Blaze would be strong enough to fight a stallion like that. She had to follow the herd and try to get her horse back.
Issie looked at the halter lying next to her. She picked it up and stood up, surveying the ridge in front of her. Then she threw it down on the grass and flopped down next to it once more. What was she thinking? Blaze was probably miles away by now. Issie had no chance on foot. The only logical thing to do was to try to get home and get help. If she set off now, Issie figured she might reach Blackthorn Manor before nightfall.
There were two ways to get home from Lake Deepwater. She could go home the same way that she had come, along the northern ridge past the forest, but somehow taking the same route home again didn’t seem like such a good idea. She might be able to outrun the Grimalkin on Blaze, but on foot it would be a different story. Besides, the woods would creep her out too much. Better to go around the loop of the Coast Road. It would be slower by an hour or so, but at least it was open countryside.
Issie consulted her map. The Coast Road ran right through the length of Aunt Hester’s property, starting at the sea and travelling past Lake Deepwater and through acres of rolling farmland all the way back to Blackthorn Manor. To the left she could see a peek of blue ocean on the horizon. She turned to the right – it was going to be a long walk back to Aunt Hester’s.
The word “road” was actually a bit grand, Issie decided as she walked along. In fact, the Coast Road was not much more than a broad dirt and gravel track. It was wide enough for a car or a truck, but it wasn’t a real road. This was private land and the only people who ever drove down here would be Aidan or Hester. There was no chance of Issie hitching a lift.
After she had been walking for a couple of hours the road swerved back inland and cut a broad ribbon through lush green pasture. The sun was shining overhead, but a cool breeze stopped the day from getting too hot. Issie stopped for a moment and took off her jersey and put it in the backpack along with her helmet and the halter.
She was just hauling the pack back on to her back when she heard a noise. She looked around but she couldn’t see anything. For a moment she held her breath, not moving. There it was again! It sounded like a low, rumbling growl. She scanned the horizon. The land to her right was open green pasture, but to her left there was a dense, tangled thicket of blackthorn trees, not far from the road. Issie looked at the blackthorn trees. She couldn’t see anything, but she was sure she heard something. She started walking again but she had only gone a little way further down the road when she heard it once more. This time she was certain. It was a low, rumbling feline growl. The Grimalkin was in the blackthorn bushes and it was stalking her.
Looking back later, Issie realised that what she did next was dumb. But panic had gripped her. She kept walking for a moment as she tightened the straps on her backpack and then, without even daring to look back, she broke into a run and began to sprint as fast as she could.
As soon as she started running the noise behind her became louder. She could hear the Grimalkin thrashing through the undergrowth beneath the blackthorn trees, the deep, feline growl growing nearer and nearer. It was chasing her. She should never have run, she realised. She couldn’t outrun it. Maybe she should try to climb a tree? But then the Grimalkin would probably just climb after her. Besides, there weren’t any trees to climb! Issie could feel the pounding of her heart in her chest. She couldn’t keep running like this for much longer.
Behind her now she heard the Grimalkin, getting even closer. And then she heard another noise, a noise that made her heart soar. It was the sound of hoofbeats. Too scared to slow down, Issie tried to keep running and look behind her at the same time. The sun was glaring overhead and as she squinted into the brightness it was hard to see. Was that a horse approaching her down the dirt road? Yes! It was a horse. She could see the dapple-grey coat shining like armour in the light of the afternoon sun. It was Mystic!
As the little grey gelding got nearer Issie thought fast. She stopped running and jumped on to a nearby tree stump. “Mystic!” she called out.
The grey pony swerved to follow her and as he drew close she made a flying leap for his back and scrambled quickly onboard. Mystic slowed down just for a moment while Issie regained her balance, and then he surged on again at a gallop, with Issie clinging on desperately, her hands wrapped tightly into his long, flowing mane.
“Go, Mystic!” Issie urged the horse on. She needn’t have bothered though; Mystic was already stretched out running, his legs flying over the ground beneath him, his hooves striking out a frantic rhythm on the rock-hard dirt of the road.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.